


Another Universe, Maybe

by Anonymous



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Sans the Human, human!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:10:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5151476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Sans is a human from the distant future that crash-lands his teleporting time-machine in Snowdin. Papyrus picks him up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Universe, Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> Is this really what Sans is? Probably not. I liked writing it anyways. The chapters will probably jump around a bit in the timeline.

Sans shivered quietly in the oversized hoodie, and stared out across the snow as smoke slowly rose from the broken pieces of a machine behind him. Something had gone horribly wrong, and now he, a lowly human with no magical abilities whatsoever, was in the middle of a snowy forest with no real clue of where to go, what time period he was in, or why- no, wait. He knew why. Faintly.

Go back in time, and find… find… Sans shook his head, as his memory seemed to glitch on him for a few seconds. Go back in time, and find a monster named Gaster. He who held the keys to dimensional hopping. Sans smiled at the thought- dimensional hopping would be pretty neat.

His smile faded slightly as his memory started streaming back. They had found small bits and pieces, mere mentions of Doctor Gaster. Their biggest clue was when someone found a strange ferry on a river that offered them a free ride and a piece of advice, “Beware of the man who speaks in hands.”

Sans took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Okay, his teleporting time machine was horribly broken, but now he remembered about what time period he was supposed to be in- just after the War of Monsters vs. Humans. The details were sketchy, but the small fragments they had managed to gather pointed to Gaster existing about now. So-

Sans glanced around the snowy forest. First, get to some kind of town. There was a low-key ache in his bones, and while he had never tested the fact that he apparently had really low hp according to every monster he’d ever met, he was pretty sure he was at least a little hurt. He'd be more surprised if he wasn't hurting in some way after the wild ride he had. Wait, was he in monster land, or human land? If he were a human suddenly appearing in a monster town so shortly after the war had finished…

Sans patted his pockets, and pulled out his Halloween costume and a few dirty socks. The dirty socks tumbled onto the snow. Sans scooped them up, before tucking them back into his pockets. He loved his socks. Sans checked the mask- a skeleton face grinned back at him. It was a pretty lazy costume overall, but it should fool any monster from a distance. Okay, disguise in hand if he needed it. Now, onwards.

Sans took a step forward- and everything rippled, rushed, twisted, and suddenly he was standing on the edge of a cliff. His breath rushed out in a little, quiet gasp. The air was stale despite being so cold, but this high he could see a tiny house, brightly lit in the odd pseudo darkness that clung to the air. Sans head tilted back, to where he could distantly see a ceiling.

… Snow and ice in a cavern? Possible. It was all of his science fiction books coming true all at once. Except for the part where Sans was pretty sure he was a two-bit character certain to be murdered horribly. And the fact that he just randomly warped onto a cliff edge. Sans slowly turned around, and took another step forward.

The world did it’s weird rushing thing, and a wave of heat that threatened to cook him slapped against his face. Sans blinked slowly, suddenly sweating in the very jacket that had kept him warm. There was still a ceiling, but this ceiling was far, far closer. Steam vented nearby, pipes clanking loudly as if to remind him he probably wasn’t alone. A glance over his shoulder told him he was right- there was a tall, bunny-eared soldier-looking monster slowly making rounds. Sans quickly pulled up his hood despite the heat, and braced himself to take another step forward.

The heat disappeared to be replaced by drizzling rain.

Sans used a finger to push up the hood of his hoodie. Water plopped against fingers, taking a little bit of the dirt that had stuck to it. A castle, illuminated from within, shone in the distance. Sans stared at it for a few seconds, heart sticking a bit in his throat. He’d seen pictures of this, in a small distant memory of his history books. “The New Home.” Named by King Asgore, a long, long time ago.

He couldn’t remember the rest, but there was a distant, clawing panic that he was forgetting something very important. But he was in monster territory, so- Sans pulled the skeleton mask on, and the gloves. The rest of his clothes were baggy enough to hopefully hide just how human he was.

“okay Sans, one step at a time. first you gotta stop warping all over the place.” Sans took a deep breath.

He was probably the one causing the warping. He wasn’t sure though. It was hard to tell among all the other pains and aches- Who was he kidding. He was always a lazy-bones. Sans laughed inwardly at his little pun as he lowered his aching body into the cold, wet puddle. No more walking for right now. Not until he could make the world stop spinning. His head fell into his arms, as he took deep, measured breaths, trying to calm himself. Trying to figure out what to do next.

The rain stopped. Sans head tilted back, just as a long, boney face thrust its way into view. “HELLO THERE. I DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE TO SIT DOWN IN A COLD, WET PUDDLE WHEN THERE ARE LESS WET PLACES TO SIT.”

“just staring at the castle is all.” Sans said back, mind scrambling at the appearance of an actual skeleton. “why are you here... bro?”

The skeleton paused at the word, and Sans watched in slight amusement as he could practically see the cogs in the head turning. The skeleton at last came to one conclusion. “I SEE! SO YOU MUST BE MY LONG-LOST BROTHER! I ALWAYS KNEW I WAS FANTASTIC, BUT I NEVER KNEW THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS SO FANTASTIC THAT MY OWN BROTHER WOULD BE SENT AWAY!”

Sans couldn’t believe for a second that this Papyrus guy had come to such a conclusion. It was too out there. The umbrella was carefully shifted to still cover them both as Papyrus crouched down to wrap bony arms around him, and squeeze him in a tight hug. “NEVER FEAR BROTHER! I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY MORE ABANDONING TO TAKE PLACE!”

This was actually happening. Sans shook his head, amusement beginning to bubble up through the disbelief. “don’t worry about it Papyrus.” Better avoid using the word brother for now. He had lucked out and found the one skeleton in the entire world willing to actually believe him. “it’s only tibia expected.”

A moment of silence, before Papyrus dropped the hug. Sans wondered if he had managed to break his cover already, as eyes narrowed at him. “BROTHER. YOUR PUNS ARE HORRIBLE.”

Sans shrugged casually, even as relief flowed through him for that briefest second. “I’m not thinking clearly because I’m running a femur.” The words tumbled out, because he had the feeling he was, the heat and cold, the rain- without really noticing, his body just didn’t feel all that good.

“WELL! I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A SKELETON GETTING SICK-“ fucking hell shit “-BUT NEVER FEAR! I WILL NURSE YOU THROUGH YOUR SICKNESS.” Papyrus shifted, and before he knew it, Sans was being lifted up into the air.

“YOU ARE MOST MOLDABLE FOR A SKELETON. AND HEAVY.”

Was this a good time to panic? Sure, brain, start making some good excuses. He was good at excuses. “i’m just big-boned is all. no need to worry-“ Sans began, when Papyrus triumphantly interrupted him.

“I SEE! SO SKELETONS MUST BE THE MOST COMFORTABLE AND HUGGABLE OF ALL MONSTERS! UNLIKE DOGS.”

Oh. Oh. Sans could feel tension he didn’t even know he had slowly begin to unwind. It wouldn’t matter what he said, Papyrus would probably find some way of rationalizing it away. It was a little odd to be carried like this, but Sans wasn’t about to complain. He wasn’t used to physical contact at all, and a skeletons hugging carry was barely a step up. A little boney and hard, but he didn't have to walk and risk warping somewhere else, so Sans wasn't going to complain.

“HERE WE GO!” It was a small apartment, and Sans listened to the sounds of waterfalls as Papyrus pushed open the door. “FATHER HASN’T BEEN BACK IN SOME TIME, SO IT’LL JUST BE YOU AND I.”

Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about that. Sans shivered in the room. “aren’t you cold?” He questioned.

Papyrus was giving him the oddest side-eye. “OF COURSE NOT! I DON’T HAVE SKIN.”

…Fair enough. Ask a stupid question, get a honest answer. “sorry Papyrus, but i’m chilled to the bone. can we get some heat?”

“OF COURSE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM ALWAYS WILLING TO LISTEN TO A REQUEST FROM SOMEONE WHO’S OBVIOUSLY WEAKER THEN I!”

Sans was deposited a little less then gently on a lumpy green couch. It was perhaps the most awful couch he had ever laid on. Papyrus bustled away, before coming back with several blankets. “FOR YOU UNTIL I FIND THE THERMOSTAT.”

The walls were pretty much bare, but Sans was sure it couldn’t be too long before Papyrus found the thermostat.

Sans curled up in the thick blankets, and felt his eyes begin to close.

When he opened them again, Papyrus was hold a can of soup in his hands. “AH, BROTHER! I HEARD THAT KETCHUP SOUP IS GOOD FOR ILLNESS.”

Well, someone had been lying. It was a good thing Sans really enjoyed ketchup, huh. “really? i thought it was chicken soup.” It was still cold in the apartment, making him curl a little deeper into the blankets.

Papyrus must have noticed, because he continued, “I TALKED TO THE LANDLORD, AND APPARENTLY HE WAS QUITE SURPRISED THAT SOMEONE LIVED IN THIS APARTMENT, BUT WHEN HE DOUBLE CHECKED, THE APARTMENT WAS PAID OFF FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, INCLUDING UTILITIES. UNFORTUNATELY, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS UNABLE TO CONVINCE HIM TO TURN UP THE HEAT BEYOND 70 DEGREES.”

Sans nodded as Papyrus started pulling open the can of soup. It was handed to him, stone cold. “HERE YOU GO!”

Right. Skeletons didn’t have tastebuds. They probably didn’t care about heat or taste of their food. Sans sipped at the can, feeling the monster food work its magic in his body, soothing aches and pains. Monster ketchup was so good, he could eat it every day.

Papyrus fidgeted silently to one side, mitten fingers counting and adding up to nothing. Sans waited quietly for Papyrus to say something, which he did after a long moment. “SO, IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT I HAVE PERHAPS NOT BEEN THE GREATEST BROTHER SO FAR.”

Sans felt his eyebrows lifting. Papyrus had taken a virtual stranger from off a street, fed them, and got them warm and dry. That was the sign of a pretty good guy- “I’M AFRAID I HAVEN’T ASKED YOU FOR YOUR NAME YET.”

Oh, that. “sans.” Sans said, hand reaching out to pat Papyrus’s hands comfortingly, like he’d seen other parents do to anxious children. “don’t worry about it. I didn’t tell you anyways.”

“YES, WELL, IT IS QUITE THE GREVIOUS OVERSIGHT, ONE THAT I WILL DO MY BEST TO RECTIFY AS WE GROW CLOSER!”

Sans felt a tiny pang of regret. He’d have to leave the moment he could to go looking for Gaster, and a way out of this cavern. He had a week at most, but the idea of spending his time with Papyrus wasn’t exactly filling him with dread. Other than his diet, but-

Papyrus settled down next to the couch. “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PARTAKE IN THE OLD TRADITION OF WATCHING TELEVISION WITH ME? I HEARD IT IS A RITUAL SICK CHILDREN WILL HAVE. THOUGH THERE IS ONLY A FEW CHANNELS.”

Sans nodded, leaned back with a can of soup in his hands. There were roughly twenty channels, all of them filled with monsters. No humans whatsoever. He felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle at that… they settled on a cartoon that Papyrus seemed rather happy to watch.

Sans contemplated where and when he was going to leave. He couldn’t mooch off of Papyrus forever. Even if Papyrus seemed like the type to let him stay forever. A monster world, a single human-

On screen a human was captured and taken away. Sans swallowed hard, sinking into his blankets.

Papyrus glanced up, back at the cartoon, and seemed to come to yet another one of his oddball conclusions, “PERHAPS SEEING HUMANS WHEN SICK IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. A SOOTHING COOKING SHOW WOULD DO YOU BETTER SANS!”

The cooking show was filled with chainsaws, but Sans laughed as he watched chainsaws screech, and a veggie monster start tossing magical bits of itself at other monsters. He leaned against Papyrus, eyes dancing, thoughts of leaving temporarily put aside. He would deal with it later.

He would deal with everything later.


End file.
